Business in brief

Citizen Staff Reports

03/15/12

ReFinery, a consignment store that celebrates eclectic taste and caters to women with diverse personal styles, recently relocated to 5402 Lakeside Ave. The store offers like-new, ready-to-wear condition apparel and accessories in sizes ranging from petite to plus that are current, classic and unusual. ReFinery will also offer a sampling of menswear and accessories and decorative items for the home or gifts. The business was established in 2008 and is locally owned. Store hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Merchandise is accepted by appointment Tuesday-Friday. An open house will be held Saturday, March 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For details, call 266-8424 or visit http://www.refineryinc.com.

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Certified Personal Trainer Donald Tate recently opened Tate Fitness Studio at 3850 Gaskins Rd., Suite 200. The facility specializes in overall wellness for diverse populations, including athletes, older adults and post-rehab patients. Tate has more than 10 years of experience with helping people set and achieve fitness goals, including weight management, strength training and injury prevention. Personal, group and couples training are available for all fitness levels from beginner to advanced. For more information, call 270-7878 or visit http://www.tatefit.com.

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Rawls McNelis + Mitchell, a 16 year-old law firm specializing in complex medical cases, recently leased 6,000 square feet at 211 Rockett’s Way in Rockett’s Landing. The 14-lawyer firm will occupy the first two floors of the building that is currently home to the Rockett’s Landing sales center, which will now relocate to the adjacent Cedar Works building. The firm expects to move in by the end of August.

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UR Downtown, the University of Richmond’s downtown Richmond location at 626 E. Broad St., is serving as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site Tuesdays and Thursdays through April 12 and Saturdays March 17 and April 7. Tax preparation assistance is available from 3:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays. For the tenth year, MetroCASH is coordinating free tax-preparation services at 14 sites throughout the city as part of the IRS-sponsored VITA program. Individuals and families who earned less than $50,000 in 2011 may receive assistance. Anyone who earned less than $31,000 is eligible to use the online program, Turbo Tax Freedom Edition, with guidance from a trained volunteer on a walk-in basis. Others should email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 955-4018 to schedule an appointment. Visit http://downtown.richmond.edu/connect/VITA.html for more details.

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The Richmond chapter of the National Association of Professional Women will host “Fundamental Principles for Successful SEO: A Business Woman’s Guide” on Thursday, March 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Shackleford’s, 10496 Ridgefield Pkwy. Travis Paull of Follow Media Consulting will present the program on search engine marketing and explain why it’s important to develop a well-written, keyword targeted content for a website that is updated consistently and monitored for rankability. Paull will also explore concepts such as page-rank, visitor behavior, and how Google views human idiosyncrasies and break down the information at a level appropriate for those with little to no experience with SEO. There are no local dues. Purchase of lunch is suggested but not required. To register, visit http://www.facebook.com/groups/napwrichmondchapter.

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Piedmont Independent Fiduciaries recently hired Sue Davis, a former Wachovia Securities leader, as the Glen Allen-based firm’s new VP of Client Services and Operations. Davis will oversee compliance and regulatory efforts. For more information, visit http://www.pif401k.com.

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Sarah Thomas, Southern States Cooperative, Inc. – West Broad Street Service, recently attended a comprehensive three-day training program designed to qualify employees as “Certified FeedMaster Specialists” for Southern States Cooperative, Inc. The rigorous training program is tied to the Southern States’ FeedMaster program and is designed to augment the existing knowledge base of employees involved in advising the co-op’s customers on issues related to feeding various types of animals. The program provides new and updated information and qualifies for continuing education units (CEUs) by the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS), a national organization that certifies animal scientists through examination.

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Carolyn Hall, a Glen Allen lia sophia advisor, recently traveled to the Dominican Republic for an all-expenses-paid "Rock Star Escape" trip for two at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana. Each year, the fashion jewelry direct seller selects a top luxury resort as an incentive destination to reward advisors who meet certain sales and recruiting goals.

St. Joseph's Villa’s Flagler Housing & Homeless Services was one of three entities to earn the National Alliance to End Homelessness' Champion of Change Award. The awards were presented Nov. 17 during a ceremony at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Flagler completed its transition from an on-campus shelter to the community-based model of rapid rehousing in 2013, and it was one of the nation's first rapid re-housing service providers to be certified by NAEH. > Read more.

Richmond International Raceway's 13th annual Community Christmas tree lighting has been rescheduled from Dec. 6 to Monday, Dec. 12, at 6:30 p.m., due to inclement weather expected on the original date.

Entertainment Dec. 12 will be provided by the Laburnum Elementary School choir and the Henrico High School Mighty Marching Warriors band. Tree decorations crafted by students from Laburnum Elementary School and L. Douglas Wilder Middle School will be on display. Hot chocolate and cookies will be supplied by the Henrico High School football boosters. > Read more.

It’s going to be a cold weekend so if you’re headed out to the James River Parade of Lights or the Richmond Road Runners Club Toy Run 5K in Innsbrook, you’d better bundle up! If you’re looking for some indoor ways to celebrate the holidays, check out Three-Penny Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story for Christmas” or “To Drive the Cold Winter Away: An Irish Celebration of the Returning Light” at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Glen Allen. Also this weekend – the Henrico Theatre will show the holiday classic “Home Alone." For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.

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Congregation Brith Achim, 314 W. South Blvd. in Petersburg, will commemorate the Jewish Festival of Lights with a Dreidels and Dinner Chanukah Celebration. Admission is free. For details, call 732-3968.
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